Mobile Email Myth Busters

So many people have smartphones, and that means so many people have mobile email. Almost 20% of all email is opened on a smartphone. Because mobile email is a relatively new concept, there are a lot of rumors flying around. Don’t avoid mobile email in your email campaigns because you have heard some less than flattering rumors. Here are some mobile email myths.

Mobile email readers are teenagers and not my target market.Teenagers do read mobile email, but so do about 500 million other people around the world. With 20% of all email being opened and read on a smartphone, there is a good chance that your target audience is reading your email on their mobile.

I don’t have to format emails for mobile readers. A 17” computer screen is much different than a palm sized touch screen. Things will look different and feel different. A mouse and cursor on a large screen have more control and precision when clicking and scrolling than a finger on a small screen.

Mobile is only for big companies, not my small business. It is true that large companies will be on the mobile email train before small businesses, mostly because they have the resources to do so, but mobile email isn’t really a choice anymore, everyone should be using mobile email in this competitive market. Mobile email programming isn’t easy, but it isn’t too difficult. If you aren’t tech-savvy, consult an internet marketing company or an IT specialist.

I only need to worry about iPhone users. While iPhone/iPad users hold about 80% of mobile email opens, you do need to focus on them first. But, Android devices are quickly gaining popularity and proving that other operating systems are just as important and relevant.

I can’t track stats with mobile like I can traditional email. This is largely untrue. Most smartphones open email using a mobile email client like MailDroid, Gmail or Apple Mail and open rates, click-throughs, etc are trackable. Blackberry devices are a little more difficult to measure, but you can still measure clicks. Most mobile email opens ARE trackable.

It is too expensive. Changing and updating your templates and email programs to be mobile-friendly is a low-cost investment in your future success. By not being mobile friendly, you could be losing protential customers due to a small compatibility communication issue that could have been easily mended. You could also damage your brand reputation as being not up to date with technology.

The bottom line is that no matter what you heard, mobile email compatibility is an affordable and necessary investment and that without it you could be negatively affecting your bottom line.